King Altador's Substitute:Part Four

     E ventually, Queen Nera managed to fix everything. The small Yooyu island had been fully repaired, the Hall of Heroes ceiling was fixed, the Altachucks had been found and returned to their cages, and everything seemed to be in order, finally.

      First, Nera went to an important council meeting in Altador’s place. They discussed issues and important topics involving the kingdom. The meeting had bored the queen, but it was simple enough. The meeting came to a close, and the Xweetok was free to continue her duties and her husband’s. She walked down the steps from the council meeting, and was approached by an ordinary Yooyu.

      It had came up to Nera, asking for help. The Yooyu island that rested off the coast of Altador, was in ruins and desperate for much needed repairs. The Petpets refused to participate in the Altador Cup until the repairs were made. She promised to see to it right away. Keeping true to her promise, Nera sent a few workers to the island, and they trimmed the overgrown shrubbery and plants. The decaying dock had to be replaced with a brand new one. Once the workers were finished with the repairs, the Yooyus hopped around in joy. They agreed to continue working in the famous Altador Cup that they started participating in, so long ago.

      After that, the Hall of Heroes ceiling completely stopped working. The metal gears had become rusted over years of use and exposure to water, leaving the ceiling stuck open. The queen had to send a mechanic to replace the aging gears. Only then would the ceiling work properly. Leaving it open all year would increase heating costs, so it had to be closed.

      The Yurble janitor that cleaned the hall was pleased the ceiling had finally been fixed. Now he could freely open and close the ceiling whenever he wanted. Still, the worker had a bad temper and most likely would never change. Nera then asked him if he would clean up the rubble from the Darkest Faerie statue. As a reply, the Yurble yelled at her that the rubble was heavy and would take time to clean up. Nera decided to not bother with it and leave that up to Altador to deal with.

      Then, a female Gelert approached Nera, terrified because her pet Alabriss had gotten stuck in a tree. Nera offered to help, so she climbed the large tree that the pet became stuck in. The Alabriss refused her help and jumped down, flying back to its owner. The Xweetok was annoyed that she climbed the tree and ruined her hair for nothing. After she climbed down, the queen became faced with another problem.

      The Altachucks were terrorizing the neopets of Altador.

      Altador and Nera’s daughter, Cecilia, had released the Altachucks because she thought it was a nice day, and that they wanted to play around in the grass. The feisty pets ended up escaping from her, running all over the kingdom. Royal guards had to go through each district and recover the Petpets. The pets dug up gardens and ate a few of the residents’ flowers. Soon enough, they were returned to their pens, where they would be safe and cared for.

      Nera then gave a public apology to the residents that were affected by the incident. She offered to send out workers to repair the damages. The Altadorians were slightly annoyed, but forgave the princess for her mistake. Cecilia promised to leave the Altachucks alone, but most likely she wouldn't.

      The light brown Xweetok sat on the steps of the Hall of Heroes, exhausted and overly stressed. Her head rested in her hands, giving her some form of relief. After all the problems she fixed, the queen felt like she needed a long vacation. She rubbed her eyes, feeling tired and emotionally drained. A day off would sound nice.

      Oh, how she wished Altador would hurry back home. He had much more experienced at solving problems of the kingdom than she ever did. The king could have fixed everything faster than his wife could. Maybe Nera wasn't really cut out for ruling by herself. It seemed difficult, even with the help of the council.

      While the queen was lost in thought, Alarick walked up to the steps, holding an adorable pet yooyu under his arm.

      He tilted his head, making his ponytail sway back and forth, and he smiled. “So, is everything going well?”

      “Yes, it's going just fine, Alarick.” Nera grumbled.

      She wished everyone would stop asking her how things were going. She swore that they were going well, even if they weren't. Admitting that things went badly felt like defeat, and Nera couldn't have that.

      The teenager rolled his eyes, not believing her. “Uh huh...I'm sure that's totally true, mom.”

      Nera shook her head and stood up. “Okay okay fine, so I lied. I admit that your father’s job is painfully hard. I have struggled all day, trying to fix these problems and to keep new ones from happening. I have no clue how he does any of this.”

      The white Xweetok laughed. “I knew it! There was no way you would be able to do it so easily.”

      “Don't you dare tell your father.”

      Altador would either be disappointed in her, laugh because she was wrong about it not being hard, or he would never want to leave her in charge of anything again. Either scenario would not go well with Nera.

      “Yeah, whatever.” Alarick replied, going back to the fields to play yooyuball with his friends. He didn't seem to care all that much.

      The queen groaned, wanting the day to hurry up and end. She went back inside to finish paperwork. Thankfully, no more interruptions came her way. She finished signing important documents and filing them. For the rest of her day, the brown xweetok organized Altador’s small personal library. She arranged the books in alphabetical order. The white lupe would be happy that Nera cleaned up his messy office for him. It would leave him with more time to do other important tasks.

      Now the only thing left to do was to wait for him to come home.

      King Altador and his two loyal guards arrived back home, very late in the evening. They looked exhausted and worn out from their trip. The diplomatic trip went well according to the elderly Lupe. A few new trade opportunities had opened up, which would be a positive for the kingdom. Unique items from the other lands could come to the kingdom, and their own products would be shipped out to other parts of Neopia, making a profit for the city.

      The two guards went back to their usual duties, and Altador hugged his wife. He told her that he missed her and he was happy to be back home in her arms.

      “I'm glad to be back.” The Lupe released her from his embrace. It felt like it had been ages since the two saw one another.

      “I'm glad you are too. So, how did the summit go?”

      “It went well. We agreed to do trade with other parts of Neopia, such as Brightvale and Terror Mountain.”

      Nera hugged him once more. “I'm very happy you were able to work that out.”

      They talked about what else went on at the summit. Princess Amira had told Altador to tell Nera that she said hi. King Skarl and King Hagan argued during most of the meeting. King Jazan actually came this time, to Amira’s displeasure. As Altador had said, it appeared to have went well.

      “How did everything go here? Did you have any trouble?” King Altador asked, as they walked through the garden together, hand in hand.

      The flowers of Altador recently started blooming, so it was a sight to see. Nera’s personal garden was covered in flowers of every shape, size, and color. She liked to go there whenever she needed time away. It felt soothing to her.

      “Oh no, I had no trouble.” Nera lied, not wanting to worry the Lupe that she loved dearly. “I really didn't have any problems.”

      “That's splendid!” Altador gave her a big smile. “Maybe next time I have to leave, I can leave you in charge again. It would ease my mind knowing I left everything to you. You did a great job while I was away and nothing seemed to have went wrong.”

      Altador trusted that Nera would be able to handle things once again. She had a good relationship with the council and the citizens or Altador. Things seemed to go well this time, so why not leave her in charge the next time?

      Nera let out a nervous laugh, not really looking forward to Altador’s next diplomatic trip. No way she could go through all that frustration again. Dealing with it once was enough for the Xweetok. In a span of four days, she had to save the Altador Cup, fix a large ceiling, save some lady’s pet, and keep their young daughter from causing chaos in the city. Something much worse than those events could have happened.

      And who knows what in Neopia could happen next time?

      The End.